On the occasion of the 42nd National Teachers' Day, the China Academy of Art held the awarding ceremony of the 10th "Erudite Craftsman Award." Ten years is but a fleeting moment in the long river of history; yet for the China Academy of Art, it has been a solid journey in which the spirit of the erudite craftsman has been passed down from generation to generation and the mission of education has been carried forward without interruption. "Think like a philosopher, work like a craftsman." Since its establishment in 2016, the "Erudite Craftsman Award" has consistently upheld the spirit of enlightenment, cultivated a deep concern for reality, stood firmly with the people, and courageously shouldered the mission of civilization. It not only celebrates outstanding achievements in teaching, research, and creation, but also honors exemplary teachers who foster virtue through education, becoming a spiritual landmark that unites the academic community of the China Academy of Art. Over ten years of deep cultivation in pursuing the Way and unremitting exploration through practice, the Academy has interpreted the essence of the erudite craftsman through "illuminating the Way and establishing the heart," broadened the realm of artistic pursuit through "exploring the times," and fulfilled the responsibility of teachers through "the unity of knowledge and action." With ten years of unbroken transmission, 51 teachers of the Academy have received this honor; with ten years of diligent cultivation, the Academy celebrates its teachers who have remained true to the original aspiration of aesthetic education, devoted themselves to the fertile soil of art education, and achieved outstanding accomplishments—honoring them under the name of "erudite craftsman," raising banners and setting benchmarks.

Professor Xu Jiang was invited to compose a couplet:In vigorous practice, one must hold reverence; in dwelling in reverence, one must attain mastery; in attaining mastery, one must reach far; in treading far, one must become an erudite craftsman—an erudite craftsman for exactly ten years.In mission lies art; in creating art lies character; in poetic character lies the heart; in literary heart lies the envisioned realm—the envisioned realm reaches unto eternity.

Kong Guoqiao, Professor at the School of Painting, Gao Shiqiang, Vice Dean and Professor at the School of Intermedia Art, and Jiang Jun, Dean and Professor at the School of Visual Communication, received the "Erudite Craftsman Award." Li Dan, Professor at the School of Painting, and Fan Baiding, Dean, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and Professor at the School of Art and Humanities, received the "Young Erudite Craftsman Award."

Kong Guoqiao looked back with deep affection on his journey of study and teaching, and expressed special gratitude to those who guided him along life's and academic paths, including Zhu Peihua, his middle school art teacher who first inspired him; Li Yitai, his esteemed teacher in the Printmaking Department; Zhao Zongzao, his master's supervisor; and his doctoral supervisors Xu Jiang, Sze Tou Lap (Situ Li), Sun Zhouxing, Chen Jiaying, and other distinguished mentors. He also thanked the leadership and colleagues of the School of Painting and Art for their long-standing care and support. Citing the educational philosophy in Whitehead's *The Aims of Education*, he held that university teachers should establish themselves through genuine scholarly character and devote themselves to education and scholarship with the humility of an "ignorant one"—always reverent and ceaselessly inquisitive. Having studied and worked at the China Academy of Art for forty years, Kong Guoqiao stated that in the future he will always remain true to the original aspiration of education, uphold the true meaning of being a teacher, continue to deepen his scholarship and stay rooted in the classroom, explore questions alongside young students, and fulfill the mission of educating people.

Gao Shiqiang began with the idea that "the China Academy of Art is a way of life," saying that for him it is "a rich, surging, and proud life of the mind," granting him landscapes, mentors and friends, and a fervent aspiration that has never run dry over thirty years. Dean Xu Jiang, with his far-reaching academic vision and his hands-on devotion to both art and life, influenced and shaped his dual character as both artist and teacher. The nurturing environment of the Sculpture Department also shaped him: Mr. Pan Xirou, who valued talent without rigid conventions, recognized and cultivated him with keen discernment; and Mr. Zhang Keduan, who guided and led the way with a rational spirit of scholarship, anchoring the direction and laying a solid foundation for his artistic creation and life's cultivation. He thanked his colleagues for their help and support, which has kept this life of the mind at the China Academy of Art forever warm.

Jiang Jun said that in 2017, as a villager of Liangzhu Cultural Village, he felt both excited and anxious about the China Academy of Art building its Liangzhu campus. After joining the Academy, he participated in the campus planning, entered the teaching system through the conception of its pedagogical framework, and became a teacher at the China Academy of Art. He has never forgotten the "four systems" he proposed for the new campus: the campus system embodies the idea that "the academy is a community + life is education"; the institute system embodies the essence of a "research university"; the house system embodies an environment of "student self-organization"; and the mini-semester system embodies a platform that "takes the world as its vision and society as its site." Eight years later, the campus has quietly become internalized in his heart, turning into a "visioned realm." He believes that both teachers and teams are "Homers," writing the "grand tour" of the great learning of adults and the "my homeland" where the heart finds rest.

Li Dan felt deeply honored and encouraged to receive the Young Erudite Craftsman Award. She sincerely thanked the China Academy of Art and the School of Painting and Art for their support and the platform they provided, regarding this recognition as both an encouragement and a weighty responsibility. She thanked her supervisor for teaching by example and guiding her to delve deeply into mural art; she thanked her senior teachers and the office staff for their support and encouragement; and she also thanked her students for their diligence and effort, which have made teaching and learning mutually beneficial a reality. On the path of studying traditional murals, teachers and students have explored together and grown together. She remarked that this is both an honor and a stroke of good fortune, and that in the future she will carry these expectations, remain true to craftsmanship, continue to deepen her work in mural teaching and creation, and pass on the spirit of the erudite craftsman.

Fan Baiding thanked the Academy for this weighty honor, acknowledging candidly that it represents tremendous affirmation and deep encouragement for his scholarship and teaching. He stated that he feels very fortunate to have studied and worked at the China Academy of Art, and that whatever progress he has made is entirely due to being rooted in the soil of the Academy. He thanked his teachers Fan Jingzhong and Cao Yiqiang, as well as all his senior colleagues and peers, saying that it is precisely the academic home jointly built by the teachers and students of the Academy that has allowed him to concretely experience the greatness of the world of art and knowledge. He was especially moved by the Academy's unwavering commitment to and deep cultivation of art history. Through the successive generations of Academy leadership, art history has always been placed in an important position in the institution's development, valuing scholarship, preserving cultural lineage, and transmitting the classics—a steadfastness that is particularly rare and precious among universities both at home and abroad.

This year's "Erudite Craftsman Award" ceremony is not only a tribute to the spirit of the erudite craftsman over the past decade, but also a solemn pledge to the future. On the new journey of building a world-class academy of fine arts, the teachers of the China Academy of Art will continue to be guided by the spirit of the erudite craftsman, vigorously carry forward the spirit of educators, cultivate more new talents of the times who are both artistically and intellectually accomplished and distinguished in both virtue and art, and write new brilliant chapters for China's art education and cultural development.